Symptoms of AIDS

AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is a very serious disease which affects the immune system making it susceptible to all sorts of infections and some rare cancers. It is caused by the HIV virus or human immunodeficiency and once someone gets the virus into their system, it is impossible to ever get rid of it. AIDS is the final stage of the HIV virus and it may take a lot of time for this virus to damage the organism so much for AIDS to develop. Neither AIDS, nor HIV can be cured but nowadays there are medical techniques which helps slow down the spreading of the infection and repair the immune system to an extent, so that the infected individual can lead a somewhat normal life.

AIDS is transmitted from one person to another if their blood or bodily fluids get in touch, and this usually happens through sexual contact or sharing contaminated needles and syringes. If a pregnant woman has AIDS she can infect her unborn child.

However, people are often repulsed by those with AIDS and scared of any kind of contact with them. That must mean that there is confusion about all the ways that the disease can be transmitted in. The disease cannot in fact be spread through saliva which means if the infected person sneezes or coughs into someone’s face or if they share a glass or anything else.

Before the HIV virus develops AIDS it basically has no symptoms whatsoever, but what it does is progressively ruin the immune system. AIDS usually develops between a year and even a decade after the appearance of HIV. When that happens, the organism becomes a total mess, and severe exhaustion follows, as well as increasing weight loss, diarrhea, a white mass covering the tongue, throat or vagina, inability to breathe properly and constant coughing, different skin conditions and mental disorders which cause poor memory and bewilderment.

Although AIDS will most likely arise from the HIV virus, that does not necessarily have to be the case. In some cases the HIV virus never went so far as to develop AIDS, while some people were able to live with this virus for more than two decades.

In order to prevent HIV and therefore AIDS is to always make sure to have protected sexual intercourse. One may never be too careful, so asking someone to take a test should not be a problem. Also, avoiding any kind of unsterilized needle is an absolute requirement, whether someone has a drug habit or just wants to get a tattoo.